A visit with Papa and Nana

Though the visit started off quite sad (Dad and Joanne's longtime friend passed away and we attended his beautiful funeral), we turned our frowns upside-down and

had a lovely weekend together.

Friday night's dinner was spent at the local bar/restaurant "Chicken Chasers" -- the beer is cheap and so is the prime rib!

Here's Nonie and her ready smile. She was so excited to spend some time with Papa and Nana. She'd been talking about it all week!

Ella opened her birthday presents from her grandparents and look! Her first Barbie! She really is growing up. I don't know if we're ready... thanks for all the goodies!

Love, love, love my dad's Oktoberfest hat, complete with pheasant feathers

and festival pins.

The weather turned chilly and snowy, but we took advantage of the hour or two of sunshine for a nice walk in the woods surrounding Dad's place. Their dog, Libby, loves to eat snow, so naturally half the walk was spent throwing snowballs into Libby's open mouth.

Man, do we need a dog!

Auntie Stacy and Zach stopped over for a visit... it was great to see them. Zach is getting so big! He was very patient with his younger cousins, and gave lots of hugs.

Thanks for everything, guys! We enjoyed all the tasty meals, card games, camaraderie and hospitality. Can't wait to do it again!